PM vows to put an end to 'Nazi-style fascism'

Shehbaz thanks army chief for law, order support, Terms PTI's manoeuvres 'a fitna'

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday declared zero tolerance for any future violent protests or sit-ins by miscreants in Islamabad. He vowed to take firm action to end the recurring cycle of unrest and economic disruption caused by such chaos.

Addressing a federal cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, without directly naming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), referred to its actions in the federal capital as a repeated onslaught by a group of miscreants, prompting the need for a rethink.

The prime minister labeled the political maneuvers of the party as a "fitna," emphasizing that chaos has no place in politics. He further likened these actions to the worst forms of Nazi-style fascism.

The directive of the Islamabad High Court was torn into pieces as a person was hell bent on sacrificing the country for the sake of his vested interests, he added.

"We will break the hand that harms the country," he added.

With the collective deliberations, they had to take strict measures, to quell such scenes in future as they could no longer put all their resources and energies into it, leading to economic destruction, he observed.

"They should have only one option before them; that is progress and prosperity of Pakistan. As a prime minister, chief executive, as members of the cabinet and parliamentarians, they will not allow this coterie of anarchy to inflict further harm on the country's economy," he maintained.

The prime minister said that once again an assault was mounted on Islamabad, but on previous night, all the law enforcement agencies had collectively and with good strategy dispersed the protest and provided relief to the public.

As a result of such riots, Islamabad, in particular, and the country, in general, suffered significant economic losses. Businesses were shut down, traders were in distress, factory owners were troubled, daily wage earners struggled to secure a single meal, and patients were left stranded, he added.

In the twin cities, the prime minister said daily life was paralyzed. In the larger context, the economic losses were manifold, the country's stock exchange market which had crossed the historic mark of 99,000 points a few days back, lost 4,000 points in one day due to the chaos.

These miscreants have become permanent enemies of Pakistan's progress. However, after peace was restored, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) rallied and surpassed its previous figures. He added that the business trend resembled the flight of a soaring bird, with investments flowing into areas where peace and opportunities prevailed.

The prime minister regretted that such like dangerous trend of upheaval and attacks was set by a party of troublemakers as it was not visible prior to 2014, because none of the political parties had ever thought of mounting attacks on the federal capital.

During 2014, Chinese President Xi's visit to Pakistan was postponed due to 126 days of sit-in by the same figures. Their leadership created mess and used foul language, which was still haunting their minds, he added.

The prime minister also referred to the protest launched on the eve of the SCO Heads of Government Summit in Islamabad, which raised concerns among several heads of friendly countries about their visit to Pakistan. He further criticized the same party for staging a protest during the visit of a Saudi Arabian delegation.

The prime minister said the mischief makers had also injured and killed security personnel during the recent attack.

He opined that the law and the Constitution ensured right for a peaceful protest.

About the recent visit of President of Belarus, the prime minister said that they were taking decisions to enhance bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries and on the other hand, there were scenes of battles.

A number of Rangers and police personnel were martyred whereas dozens more were injured, he added.

The prime minister said that they could no longer afford to waste their energies dealing with such spectacles on a daily basis. He stressed the need to reflect on why the country remained mired in foreign debt even after 77 years.

He also viewed that if the culprits of the May 9th riots were given exemplary punishment by the courts, such-like spectacles would not have happened.

The prime minister also appreciated the Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh police force and other law enforcement agencies for quelling the fresh wave of attack and particularly thanked the chief of army staff for his cooperation with regard to law and order situation.

He said that in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the terrorists and insurgency was on the rise while in Kurram, dozens of people were killed, but instead of focusing on the law and order situation there, the provincial government had left the residents in the lurch and led an armed attack on Islamabad.

The prime minister said that the provincial government of K-P did not pay heed to the hardships of the poor people but instead indulged in foul language and hurled threats against the federal government.

The recent mayhem had caused Rs190 billion daily damages to the country's economy, adversely affecting the country's exports and imports, he said, adding for the personal interests, their leadership was damaging the country's interests which 'is a bigger crime and will not be forgiven'.

He said that today's meeting had only one-point agenda that was to discuss the situation seriously emerging after repeated assaults by a party as they could no longer sap their energy and resources in confronting them.

He stressed that the government would not let certain situation in future to happen under any condition. It would not happen; not under their watch and time. "We will steer Pakistan out of the challenges," he added.

In a veiled manner, he said it pained them (PTI) that Pakistan was saved from default. The prime minister credited the coalition parties in the federation who with sincere and joint efforts, arrested the galloping inflation and price hike.

The coalition parties had put their political interests at stake to save the country. In the last eight months, the economy was on path of recovery. "No one is empowered to create such a miracle but owing to joint efforts," he added.

The prime minister recollected that the PTI leadership could not defy the 2018 historic rigging and Imran Niazi at that time had promised him to form an inquiry committee but it could not hold its meetings.

The prime minister said with personal centered statement, an attempt was made to harm fraternal ties with a brotherly country.